Also, you might want to have a hanky or cleanix available before reading this story, but please don’t read if you are that sensitive.

The StoryOne morning, after breakfast, Arthur and Buster are playing with a red kick ball in the park. It is just the two of them and they are trying to kick the ball past each other and once one of them kicks the ball passed the other, he’d score.

“You’re really good Buster,” says Arthur, “but you better watch out because I’m going to catch up with you!”

“Don’t bet on it, Arthur,” replies Buster, “you’ll never beat me!”

“Oh I won’t, won’t I?” asks Arthur. “We’ll just see about that! You may have more points than me but I’m going to top you!”

“Bring it on!” replies Buster.

Buster and Arthur continue playing their game of kick ball, or whatever it’s called.

Finally Arthur and Buster have the same number of points. It’s anybody’s game now. Arthur is thinking he will get a point higher than Buster, but Buster thinks otherwise!

As Arthur prepares to start kicking the ball, Buster feels a little breathless and reaches for his inhaler. It’s not in one pocket so he reaches in all his other pockets. Meanwhile, Arthur is kicking the ball toward Buster, thinking he has an easy score.

The dispatcher on the other end answers “9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

Arthur answers, “Hi, this is Arthur Read. My friend Buster forgot his inhaler and is having trouble breathing and he’s making these weird sounds and is coughing badly and endlessly.”

The dispatcher on the other end asks, “Does your friend have asthma?”

“Yes,” Arthur answers.

“He’s having an asthma attack,” says the dispatcher. “Where are you located?”

Arthur tells the dispatcher where he and Buster are and gives the street they’re on and the cross street they’re nearest to. Arthur repeats his and Buster’s whereabouts to the dispatcher.

The dispatcher says, “We’re sending help right away.”

“Thank you,” says Arthur.

And he hangs up and then calls Bitzi, Buster’s mother. First he calls her at home but she’s not available and it goes to voice-mail. Arthur doesn’t bother leaving a message though he wonders if he should have and instead calls Bitzi’s cell phone. She answers.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Baxter,” says Arthur, “Buster forgot his inhaler and now he’s on the ground making funny sounds and can’t seem to talk.”

Bitzi gasps and asks “WHAT?”

Arthur continues, “He’s having an asthma attack! But don’t worry, I called for an ambulance.”

“Where are you?” asks Bitzi.

Arthur tells Bitzi what he told the 9-1-1 dispatcher and adds, “We just left the park. I tried to call for help but Buster insisted on running home to get his inhaler and now he can’t even stand up.”

“Oh my baby!” says the worried Bitzi. “I’m coming over there right now!”

After hanging up, Arthur tells his friend “Hang in there Buster, help is on the way.”

Arthur stays by Buster’s side. Then sirens can be heard and get louder as they get closer and then two emergency vehicles can be seen, a fire truck and an ambulance. The fire fighters, the same ones seen in the episode “April 9th” come out of the truck and come to Arthur and the downed Buster. Two paramedics, including a brown long-snouted bear, also the same one from April 9th, come out of the ambulance. They all have Arthur back away so they can look at Buster.

“This little guy is on borrowed time,” says the white female animal fire fighter, the same one that kept Arthur from going back into the school building to get his father David.

“He needs to get to the hospital immediately!” says the brown male dog fire fighter with the single front tooth.

Both paramedics run to the back of the ambulance and get the patient carrier on wheels and bring it out to Buster. During this, Arthur tells the fire fighters and paramedics his name and Buster’s name so they know. Then the paramedics and fire fighters place Buster on it and roll him into the back of the ambulance.

“What should I do?” asks Arthur. “His mom is on his way here.”

“You have to wait here for his mother, Arthur,” says the white female fire fighter. “The paramedics have to take him right now, there’s not much time. But we’ll stay here with you until his mother comes or until we get another call.”

“Okay,” says Arthur.

The Ambulance lights flash and the siren starts to blare and then the ambulance pulls away to towards the hospital. Minutes later, Bitzi arrives and sees the fire truck, the fire fighters, and Arthur and parks behind the fire truck. She gets out and closes the door and runs onto the sidewalk.

“Where’s Buster?” asks Bitzi.

“The paramedics took him to the hospital,” says the brown male fire fighter.

“I must get over there,” says Bitzi. “Arthur, do you want to come with me?”

Without hesitation, Arthur answers, “Yes.”

Arthur, Bitzi, and the fire fighters greet each other and leave. As Bitzi is driving Arthur to the hospital, Arthur calls his parents, his mother, Jane, answers the phone and Arthur tells her Buster has gone to the hospital and told her what happened to him.

Buster is already in the hospital and in the E.R. and the doctors and nurses are rushing around to try and help Buster. Bitzi and Arthur arrive at the hospital and ask where Buster is. Bitzi also says that she’s Buster’s mother. They tell her he’s in the back but she cannot go back there. So she and Arthur sit in some seats near the entrance. The receptionist does tell the doctors and nurses that Buster’s mother has arrived. Soon Arthur’s family arrives and see Arthur and Bitzi and sit with them.

“I really hope Buster is going to make it,” says Arthur.

“I hope so to,” says the worried Bitzi, who’s a little teary. Jane hands Kate over to David and comes and comforts her.

Later a male doctor comes out into the foyer where Arthur, his family, and Bitzi are waiting and they all stand up in his presence waiting to hear what he has to say. He speaks directly to Bitzi.

The doctor clears his throat and says “I don’t know how to tell you this, but…”

Everyone is bracing him or herself for what they’re about to hear.

“Buster didn’t make it,” says the doctor.

Arthur gasps, Bitzi screams a little, Jane just opens her mouth without making a word, David doesn’t open his mouth but opens his eyes wider and raises both of his eyebrows, and D.W., well, she doesn’t know how to react because she doesn’t yet know what the doctor meant when he said “Buster didn’t make it.”

“My baby!” screams Bitzi, putting her palms on her cheeks toward the front of her face.

“My best friend!” says Arthur. “He’s gone!”

“No he’s not,” says D.W., “he’s in there!”

She says that as she’s pointing her finger toward the door the doctor came out of.

“D.W.,” says Arthur, “you don’t understand. Buster…”

Arthur stops but his mouth remains open. His parents, Bitzi, and the doctor look at him.”

“Buster what?” asks D.W.

Arthur starts to cry before saying “Buster has died.”

“Oh,” says D.W. Then she says, “Wait, What?”

Arthur drops to his knees and breaks down and cries.

“Arthur,” says D.W., “Did you say ‘Buster died.’”

Arthur raises his head toward D.W. and nods and then covers his face and cries again. Bitzi also starts to cry. Jane goes and hugs the distraught Bitzi and tries to console her. David kneels down and and holding Kate in one arm, he puts his other arm around his now bereaved son. The doctor stands and looks helplessly at the grieving mother and the now dead little rabbit’s best friend and his family.

“I want to see my son,” says Bitzi to the doctor.

The doctor thinks for a moment and then says to Bitzi, wait here, let me go tell my collegues in the back that you want to see him.”

And the doctor goes back through the doors he came out of to get permission for Bitzi to see his son. Then he comes back out and allows her to come in.

“Can I come too?” asks Arthur. “Buster’s my best friend.

“No,” says the doctor, “You can’t, only the boy’s mother can come in and see him. Sorry.”

Bitzi and the doctor go through the door and the door closes. Seconds later a loud scream can be heard from the foyer and a loud wailing follows.

“What was that?” asks D.W.

“I think Bitzi just saw her son,” says Jane, who would have said that even if D.W. hadn’t asked that question.

“I would say so too, honey” says David.

Bitzi is seen being taken by two doctors, including the one that walked her in, back out through the door more upset than she was before she went in and is crying loudly.

“Buster, my baby,” she says crying, “is really gone.”

And she continues to sob. Arthur, seeing and hearing her, cries harder than earlier. Then Arthur and Bitzi hug each other. David and Jane, who is holding Kate now stand next to each other. David holds his arm around her as he and his wife and D.W. watch Arthur and Bitzi. David and Jane then turn toward each other and tears fill in their eyes too.

Then Arthur goes to his parents and hugs them both, still crying. D.W. then gets closer to Arthur and tugs on his sweater twice. Arthur looks down at her.

D.W. tells him, “It’s gonna be all right, Arthur.”Believe it or not, D.W. has tears fall out of her eyes too and she hugs Arthur but from the side. Arthur puts one of his arms around D.W. too.

Days later, at a cemetery, Arthur is sitting with his family, all dressed in black. Bitzi is sitting next to Arthur. Grandma Throra is also there. In addition, Arthur’s surviving friends are there: Francine, Muffy, Alan, George, Sue Ellen, Fern, Jenna, Alex, Maria, Ladonna, their immediate family members, parents and siblings, Mr. Ratburn, Mr. Haney, Mrs. Tingley, Mrs. MacGrady and Mr. Fritz are there. Even Binky, Molly, Rattles, Slink, and others associated with the Tough Customers are there as are their immediate family members. James is also there as are Timmy, Tommy, and Grandma Tibble, and so is Emily and parents and her nanny Marie Helene. Mrs. Morgan is also there and so is Harry Mills. Even Buster’s father, Bo Baxter is there. Most of the attendees are wearing black but some have worn casual clothing. It’s raining and thundering and flashing lightning.

A man in a white gown addresses the attendees.

“Dearly beloved,” he says, “We are gathered here together to celebrate the life of Buster Baxter.”

After he gives his speech, the people responsible prepare to lower the casket that Buster’s body is in six feet into the ground. But Arthur cannot take that his Buster is going underground, never to be seen or heard from again.

“BUSTER, NO!” Arthur says as he gets out of his seat and runs toward his friend’s casket as he breaks down, but Jane and David quickly go and grab him and bring him back to his seat. David and Jane try to hold Arthur in place as he watches Buster’s casket disappear into the ground and the dirt gets shoveled back in the fill the hole.

“BUS-TERRRRRRRRR!” Arthur yells one more time reaching out his hand toward Buster’s final resting place.

Inside Arthur’s room, Arthur Read wakes up, sitting up quickly and screaming and then starts panting. Pal, who is laying in Arthurs bed with him, wakes up and sees his owner, making a concerned sound. Pal walks to Arthur, stands on his hind legs and puts his forepaws on Arthur, who turns and looks at him.

“Pal,” says Arthur, “you wouldn’t believe what just happened to me!”

“Arthur,” says Jane’s voice as a knock on Arthur’s door occurs followed by the opening of the door.Jane and David step in and see Arthur. D.W. is also there.

“Arthur are you okay?” asks Jane.

Arthur looks up at his parents and tears fall out of his eyes and he bows down a little and cries.

“Arthrur,” asks David as he and Jane and D.W. approach him, “what’s the matter?”

Arthur grabs a framed picture of himself and Buster from off his nightstand and looks at it for a moment. Then he looks up at his parents and D.W. and tells them what happened.

“I just had a bad dream,” says Arthur, who stops for a moment. Then he continues but not without crying, “That Buster died!”

“Oh,” says Jane, “I’m sorry.”

“That’s it?” asks D.W. “All this over Arthur having a bad dream that Buster died?”

“D.W.,” says Jane, “please be nice to your bother. Can’t you see he’s very sad right now?”

“D.W.” says David, “please be try to think about your brother.

Then David says to Arthur, “I’m sorry to hear that, son.”

Arthur tells his family more about the dream.

Later Arthur is dressed and ready to go to school, but despite not having an appetite, not without his parents making him eat. Arthur then grabs his backpack and walks to Lakewood Elementary. Next he’s in Mr. Ratburn’s room and all the students, except Buster are there.

“Arthur,” asks Francine, “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

Muffy, sitting next to Francine, looks at Arthur and notices his disposition on his face.

“Why so glum, Arthur?” Muffy asks.

Arthur sighs as he’s sitting next to the empty seat Buster is supposed to be sitting in.

Just then, Mr. Ratburn walks into the classroom.

“Good morning class,” he says, “Let’s take attendance and we’ll get started with class.”

And Mr. Ratburn calls out the names of all his students, and everyone present answers “Here.”

Arthur still doesn’t see Buster anywhere and is so worried he almost cries but tries to hold back his tears. Francine and Muffy notice him and then look at each other and look at him again. Mr. Ratburn then begins class.

Just then, the door pops open and in comes Buster, panting and saying “I’m sorry I’m late, Mr. Ratburn. I oversle…”

“Please sit down, Buster,” says Mr. Ratburn.

But just then, Arthur emerges from his seat and runs toward Buster and shouts “BUSTER, YOU’RE HERE!”

Next thing Buster knows, he’s in Arthur’s arms and Arthur is holding him really hard!

“That’s okay, you don’t have to,” says Mr. Ratburn, “but please remember that it’s not very appropriate to hug another student, that is, unless the student is having a very hard time and needs emotional support.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ratburn,” says Arthur. “I was just worried about Buster and when I saw him, I guess it was a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. But I didn’t mean to disrupt class. I’m just happy to see Buster.”

“That’s fine,” says Mr. Ratburn, “but please see to it that it doesn’t happen again.”

“I will,” says Buster. “Hey, after school, let’s ask our parents if we could spend the night with each other. If not tonight, maybe another night.”

And that’s what Arthur and Buster do after school. They get their parents okay to do so and spend two nights with each other, one at Arthur’s house and one at Buster’s.

The End

(A/N) This was meant to be a sad fanfic and I didn’t want any of you to know yet that this was a dream Arthur was having. I wanted you to think this really was happening and I’m also hoping some of you cried when you read this. I kind of did too, well I made myself cry, I even pretended Buster was alive and my best friend and he all of a sudden fell down right in front of me. Then I rushed to Buster’s side, as if he really was there, and he died right near me.

It really saddens me when rabbits die. I mean natural causes is one thing, but when a rabbit gets killed, whether by a coyote, snake, hawk, or other predatory animal, or even by a human for any reason, that bothers me a lot as rabbits are my most favorite animals in the world. And Buster is my most favorite rabbit in the world, and there was a time or so, I felt like killing, and let’s not forget eating, a rabbit, was like doing either of those things to Buster.

I love Buster so much, I thought Arthur was my most favorite character in the show, turns out Buster is and Arthur is second but one small step below Buster. And if anything were to happen to Buster, I wouldn’t feel so good about that. And I know Arthur, and Bitzi, and Bo, would be devastated. And since Buster had asthma, I decided to have that be his downfall.

I know I’m the one who killed off a rabbit, but at least in my story and not for real. And I would never hurt or kill a rabbit, especially if it was unnecessary. And let me tell you something, one time last year, I dreamt I shot and killed Buster. Well, I absent-mindedly killed Buster, among a few other things. I was playing Faceball 2000 for Super Nintendo in my dream and the next thing I knew I was inside the game shooting at objects, like a live shopping cart, and then at Buster and I shot him until he died. Thankfully I ran out of ammunition and thankfully I started to realize what I was doing and felt very bad. I walked away, thinking I’d killed my most favorite rabbit in the world and one of my most favorite cartoon characters. But then, I saw another Buster Baxter, alive, walk out of the men’s bathroom. Was that the real Buster and I killed a clone? Or did I really kill Buster and see one of his clones? Or did Buster die and come back to life? I felt bad about what I did but was happy to see Buster. Binky was also there too and he came up and talked to me but wasn’t upset with me, and neither was the Buster I saw that came out of the restroom.

But that was a horrible dream. I didn’t want to play Faceball 2000 anymore after that. But I got over it and can play that game again. But I would never kill Buster or any other rabbit.

Well, Buster, and Arthur, were fortunate this time but next time the two might not be so fortunate. I had another story about Buster forgetting his inhaler planned and I kind of still plan to write it, despite this one. This was supposed to be a quick impromptu fanfic.

It was kind of hard to look at Buster now after what I wrote about him.

Thanks for reading. If you didn’t cry, or if none of you cried, that means I didn’t write this story well enough. If you have any suggestions as to how I could have made this story sadder and more heart-lending and tear-jerking, please let me know and I'll consider rewriting this, but please keep it appropriate.